LMS RFP Template: How to Structure Your Training Software Selection Process in 2026

An RFP is the document that decides which vendors get taken seriously and which ones get a form rejection. A poor LMS RFP template yields ambiguous answers that can’t be directly compared.

A good RFP template forces all vendors to answer the same clear questions, so that the differences between platforms come out in writing instead of becoming apparent three months after the implementation process is underway.

This guide provides you with an RFP template, categorized and with the precise questions for vendors. Consider it a free LMS RFP template 2026 buyers can copy directly into their own document. When you are ready to send SimpliTrain your own RFP, you can submit it directly through our RFP intake page.

What Your LMS RFP Should Accomplish

An RFP exists to do one job well: make vendor comparison fair. Without a shared template, every vendor answers a slightly different version of your question, in whatever format flatters their product most. With a shared template, you get the same categories, the same question wording, and answers you can actually put side by side.

This matters more than it sounds like it should. Sales conversations naturally drift toward each vendor’s strengths. An RFP pulls the conversation back toward your LMS selection criteria, not theirs. It also creates a paper trail. This way, in case there is a situation where your organization discovers an assertion by a vendor during implementation but there really isn’t any, you have got something written down to refer to.

Consider your list of LMS needs as the basis on which your RFP is to be built. Without doing this, the RFP will basically be structured based on the type of software rather than your requirements for it.

Make a list of the three worst experiences you have had with training software before you ask your first question.

How to Write an RFP for Training Management Software

If you are wondering exactly how to write an RFP for training management software, here is the practical sequence.

Always begin with your requirements checklist before the question checklist. Identify the tasks your company must accomplish: delivering self-paced training modules, offering instructor-led training, tracking certifications, and reporting to the company’s executive staff. Once you have identified your checklist, then you can go ahead and develop the questions.

Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves. A vendor missing a must-have gets eliminated regardless of price or polish. A vendor missing a nice-to-have stays in consideration. Mixing the two makes scoring meaningless later.

Write questions that require specifics. Avoid yes/no phrasing wherever you can. “Describe how X works” or “walk me through what happens when Y” produces answers you can actually evaluate. Yes/no questions produce yes, almost every time.

Send the identical template to every vendor. Do not customize wording per vendor, even when you already suspect certain answers. Identical questions are what make the comparison fair once responses come back.

Give them a real deadline and hold them to it. You know what it means when a vendor can’t meet your RFP deadline? Exactly.

Avoid trying to make your RFP comprehensive. A 150-question RFP results in hasty, vague answers from the vendors and tons of responses that no one on your team has really read.

The RFP Template: Questions by Category

Copy the following sections into your own document. This is the real vendor RFP training software questions that you need to ask, sorted so you can copy the entire template or customize for your company’s needs.

Functionality

1. Describe how the platform provides self-paced courses and live instructor-led training on the same platform.
2. What kind of content formats does the platform provide, including SCORM/xAPI?
3. Describe how the platform deals with certification tracking and recertification notifications.
4. Describe the built-in course authoring tools. Can we build a course from an existing document or deck inside the platform?
5. What is the mobile learner experience like, and is it a different application or responsive design of the same platform?
6. What is the multi-location or multi-time zone handling capability for live sessions in the platform?
7. What reporting options are offered out-of-the-box, without any need to submit a custom report request?

Ask for a live walkthrough of question 1, not a slide. Whether learner data connects across self-paced and live training, without manual reconciliation, is one of the clearest signals of platform architecture you will get in an RFP process.

Pricing

1. What is the exact pricing model: per learner, active user, flat rate by tier, or another structure?
2. What counts as a billable learner under your model? Registered, active in a period, or something else?
3. What happens if we exceed our current tier or seat count mid-contract?
4. Is the implementation, migration, and onboarding charged in the base price or are they separate charges?
5. Is the TMS module like the scheduling of instructors included or is it separate?
6. What is the cancellation/downgrade policy in case our enrollment reduces?

Make sure to ask for the break-up of the quote and not just one price. There have been cases where the headline price is less but the overall price is high because of the implementation charge.

Implementation

1. What is the usual implementation timeline for a company of our size?
2. Whose responsibility is the data migration process from our current system, your team, ours, or both?
3. Which systems do the platform connect to right away and which will require custom development?
4. Do we get a single point of contact for implementation, or will there be a support queue?
5. What are the processes involved in training our administrators?

Request references from two companies that have implemented the platform within the last twelve months, not two years back.

Support

1. Which support options do you have, and what are the timeframes for each?
2. Is the support included in the base cost, or are there tiers?
3. How would a critical issue be escalated, such as a failed session during a live compliance training?
4. Would I have access to an account manager, or are you offering a general support queue?
5. How long does it usually take for an issue to be resolved on average, and could you provide that information?

The company who is ready to give you real resolution times, rather than only a promised SLA goal, speaks volumes.

Security

1. What certifications does the platform have such as SOC 2 and/or ISO 27001?
2. How is the learner and employee data stored, encrypted, and backed up
3. What role-based controls do you provide for administrators, coordinators, and managers?
4. What is your data retention and deletion policy after termination of the agreement?
5. Have you had any security breaches during the last three years and how did you handle them?

Ask for the real audit report or certificate rather than an assertion of compliance. The vendor that cannot present this document upon request is a more serious warning sign than the one still pursuing the certification.

AI Capabilities

1. What AI-assisted course authoring capabilities exist, and can we see a live example built from our own content?
2. Does AI-powered scheduling exist for live session coordination, and what specific problems does it solve?
3. Can we query training data using natural language, through an AI assistant, across both self-paced and live training records?
4. Do AI features respect existing role-based permissions, or do they expose data a user could not otherwise see?
5. Is AI functionality included in the base price, or a separate module?

Ask every vendor to demo AI capabilities live, with your own sample data, in the RFP follow-up call. A slide describing AI features tells you nothing. A live demo, run on data you provided, tells you whether the capability is real.

How to Score Vendor Responses

Score responses before any demo happens, using the must-have and nice-to-have split from earlier. A simple three-point scale works well: 0 for missing, 1 for partial or unclear, 2 for a clear, specific yes with evidence.

Weight the categories according to what matters most to your organization. A training business running heavy live delivery should weight implementation and functionality questions higher than a company running mostly self-paced compliance training.

Once scores are in, use the demo to verify the top two or three scorers, not to form your first impression. The RFP should have already done that work.

Watch for a gap between a vendor’s written RFP score and their demo performance. A vendor who scored well on paper but struggles to demonstrate the same capability live is showing you a real difference between marketing language and product reality.

Common RFP Mistakes to Avoid

• Sending different questions to different vendors. This breaks the comparison the RFP exists to create.
• Accepting yes/no answers without follow-up. A “yes” with no detail is not evidence.
• Skipping the requirements checklist step. An RFP built without one ends up generic instead of specific to your needs.
• Scoring after the demo instead of before it. This lets the best sales presentation, rather than the strongest written answers, drive the decision.
• Ignoring recent references in favor of published case studies. Case studies get chosen by the vendor’s marketing team. References you ask for directly do not.

Most RFP mistakes come from treating the process as a formality rather than an actual evaluation tool. Build in the extra week it takes to do this properly. It is cheaper than a platform switch eighteen months from now.

Related Reading from SimpliTrain

• What Is a Training Operating System? Moving Beyond Point Solutions in L&D
• Business Operating System for Training: A Guide for L&D Leaders
• Optimize Your Training Operations with a Feature-Rich TMS
• AI Course Authoring

This template is a starting point. Trim it against your own requirements checklist, send it to every vendor on your shortlist, and score the answers before you book a single demo. Ready to send it to SimpliTrain? Submit your RFP directly, or request a demo to see how we answer these exact questions.

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